


Equal and Opposite

by JarkosofTroy



Series: The Shawn Thomas Chronicles [1]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Gen, Self-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-10
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-05-13 03:38:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5693164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JarkosofTroy/pseuds/JarkosofTroy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hello. My name is Shawn Thomas. I was a pretty average person - except for my grades. They’ve always been high. Off-topic. Anyways, the key word in that is was. That was before I died, met the anthropomorphic representation of fate itself, and was sent into a universe that I thought was just a video game in order to prevent the destruction of all advanced life in the galaxy by Lovecraftian cuttlefish bots.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

PROLOGUE

* * *

 

     Hello. My name is Shawn Thomas. I was a pretty average person - except for my grades. They’ve always been high. Off-topic. Anyways, the key word in that is _was_. That was before I died, met the anthropomorphic representation of fate itself, and was sent into a universe that I thought was just a video game in order to prevent the destruction of all advanced life in the galaxy by Lovecraftian cuttlefish bots.

     So, some more info about me. As I said before, I’ve always had high grades - I was always the “smart kid.” I grew up in a small town. By small, I mean _really_ small; like less than 1000 people. Now, this town was in the mountains, so I skied a lot growing up. In college, I majored in creative writing and computer science. Oh yeah, my appearance. My hair’s dark brown, but I was born blonde - no, I didn’t dye it, it just naturally did that. I keep it in a fauxhawk. My eyes are blue, and I have glasses for my slight nearsightedness.

     On to the whole “dying-and-meeting-fate-itself” bit. I’m gonna give you one chance to guess how I died. I’ll wait. You are most likely wrong. On that Saturday - January 9th, 2016 - I decided to ski a double-black run at the end of my ski trip. I was going really fast at one point, and then I saw a tree. Do you see where this is going? Now, this tree wasn’t like a city light - it was wider than I was, which honestly wasn’t saying much, because I am _skinny_. But still, the tree was wide. Now, normally, I’d just turn out of the way - but I was too close to it. It was too late. Still, I did my damnedest. You can guess how well that turned out.

     Oh, I just realized I hadn’t mentioned the tree was on the edge of the path - and by that I mean a sheer drop. Down onto some rocks. So when I hit the tree, I was knocked senseless, and spun off the edge. The pain from the failed attempt at hugging a tree was still burning through my body, so I barely noticed the fact that my skis had fallen off and I’d dropped my poles. One coherent thought ran through my head before I made my attempt at body-slamming some rocks from above. _Shitthisisgoingtohurtlik-_

     I was right.

* * *

     Lemme get one thing right out of the way: I’m an atheist. I won’t go slamming you just because you’re religious - I will slam you if your religion leads to you being an intolerant fucklet, though. On to why I cleared this up. After my death, I found myself in a room that was pure white. Though I was a spirit, my eyes were still adjusting from my orange goggles, and so everything had a blue tint. I then realized I wasn’t wearing my skiing stuff. Hell, I wasn’t even wearing _my_ clothes.

     What I _was_ wearing was all black with some dark blue highlights. It was a t-shirt, a thin jacket - like a Windbreaker - and pants. What confused me more than that _I didn’t own any of this_ was that it was all so sci-fi. To be honest, it reminded me of Mass Effect. Why was I wearing this if I was _dead_?

 _you won’t be dead for long, shawn,_ came a sing-song, feminine voice I’d never heard before. I looked around, but didn’t see anybody. To be honest, it felt like it came from inside my own head.

     “Who are you? Where are you? What do you mean I won’t be dead for long? Why am I wearing these clothes?”

_fate, anywhere i want, i’ll explain later, because i want you to._

     “You’re-you’re _Fate_? How does that even work?”

     Fate chuckled. I felt it more than heard it. _i’m the anthropomorphic representation of fate across the multiverse. now, onto the whole_ won’t-be-dead-for-long _thing. sit._

     Suddenly, I was in a sofa. Of course, it was white to go along with the theme of _no colour outside of me_ . I was getting agitated. Like my eyes. Then, another pure-white sofa appeared across from me, and in it was a strikingly beautiful woman. She had warm amber eyes, shoulder-length golden-blonde hair, and perfectly tanned skin, and was wearing a backless, spaghetti strap dress that went to a few inches above the knee and showed off her... _assets_...well.

     I quirked an eyebrow. “I’m guessing you’re Fate?” I like the word _quirked_. It’s fun to say.

_you would be correct, shawn._

     “Wait - if you’re _Fate_ , then does that mean that everything is predetermined?”

 _nope._ She popped the _p._ _fate isn’t set in stone until the events actually happen. up until then, it’s fluid._

     “Oh. Neat.”

     She raised an eyebrow. _i tell you an integral part of how the multiverse functions and_ that’s _your reaction?_

     I shrug. “I’m weird.”

_aren’t we all?_

     “At some level, yeah.”

_we’ve been spending too much time on unimportant stuff. let’s get to business._

     “What exactly _is_ business?” You’d think how the fuckin’ _multiverse_ works would be important…

_i can hear your thoughts._

     Oh.

_now, business is the reason i said you won’t be dead for long, shawn. your fate isn’t over yet._

     Huh? “I’m _dead_ , how is my fate _not_ over yet?”

_you’re needed in another universe._

     “Why?” I ask cautiously.

_to prevent the end of all interstellar life in the milky way._

     “Why _me_?”

_you’re the least douchey of all the options._

     I laughed. Did the anthropomorphic representation of fate just use the word _douchey_?

_yes. what is so funny?_

     “You normally don’t expect fuckin’ Fate to use words like that.”

 _back to the whole_ saving-the-milky-way-in-another-universe _thing?_

     “Oh. Right. How do I come back from death, exactly?”

_i put a lot of energy into it. be careful; i won’t be able to do it again._

     “Good to know. Also, before I forget, could you tell me _what_ universe I’m going to?”

 _gladly. you know it as mass effect, i believe._ She checked a non-existent watch. _oh! looks like it’s time for you to go! stay in touch!_

     She then touches my forehead, and I am blinded by a flash of amber energy - like her eyes - before I can see again. I’m wearing the same clothes as I was in the white room, but I’m holding a rifle and I feel a mysterious weight on my right hip.


	2. CHAPTER ONE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eden Prime, part one

* * *

     I look at the rifle first. I’ve played through the entire ME trilogy, I should remember it. Ugh! What is it? Oh, yeah! It’s a Mattock. Now to the hip. It’s probably a pistol. Yup - it’s a Carnifex. Good - if the Mattock overheats I can still fight. Do I have an omni-tool? The orange hologram appears over my left forearm and hand, before being deactivated.

     Now where in the hell am I? I look at the sky, and the foreboding crimson tells me; Eden Prime during the geth attack. Shit! I’m going to need to be very careful. Do I even have shields?! If I don’t, I’m screwed. I start creeping along, careful for any geth or husks. The few I do see, I manage to not be noticed by, thankfully. Well, I _do_ sort of have Fate on my side, so I probably have a bit more luck than the normal person. I’m going to need it.

     I manage to reach the scientist camp, just as Shepard, Kaidan, and Ashley do. Turns out it’s FemShep. Y’know what? I’m just gonna call her Shep. It’s quicker. That means the husks are coming out to play. I count five - weren’t there only three in the game? Still, I’ve got to help Shep. Actually, I should probably do my best to join her team, so I can fight the Reapers.

     To this end, I begin to provide some assistance from my spot in the grass. Shep’s using a shotgun a lot - she’s probably a Vanguard, then. The dynamic trio each focuses on one husk each, while I just pepper all five with some shots. To my surprise, some of them actually make contact, and none hit Shep, Ash, or Kaidan. Not surprising me at all, Shep finishes her husk first - after all, she _does_ have a shotgun, and is fighting in close quarters.

     The four of us quickly make work of all but one husk - but I’m pretty sure it’s on it’s last leg. Shep raises her shotgun to blow its face all the way to fuckin’ hell, but I can’t let this killsteal opportunity escape me! I squeeze the trigger once, and score a headshot. Somehow, I did this quick enough so the cyborg-zombie could conveniently fall out of the way of Shep’s shotgun blast.

     She looks around, obviously frustrated. “Who just did that?!”

     I decide now is the time to reveal myself. I stand up, and calmly walk towards them, my Mattock pointed down. “That would be me, ma’am. I apologize for stealing your kill, but I just couldn’t resist.” Raised eyebrow.

     “Who are you?” That was Ash.

     “The name’s Thomas. Shawn Thomas.” Facepalms. Even _I_ can’t believe I said that. Somehow, a cover story comes naturally. “I was a colonist here, and when the sky turned red I decided something was going down, so I grabbed my Mattock and my Carnifex and did my best to avoid those flashlight-heads.”

     “Do you have any idea where the beacon is?” Shep again.

     I shake my head. I _hate_ having to play dumb, but that would be _way_ too suspicious.

     “Commander, what should we do with him?” Ah, Kaidan. Wondering when he’d speak up.

     “From what I can tell, he should be able to carry his own weight. Thomas, would you be willing to come with us?” I’m surprised she decided to take me with her so quickly. Seems Ash and Kaidan are in the same camp.

     “Of course, ma’am. Time to get revenge on those metal fuckers.” I do my best to act like someone who’s having their home attacked. “Care to introduce yourselves?” Gotta keep up appearances.

     She nods. “I’m Lieutenant Commander Jessica Shepard, this is Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, and this is Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams. Let’s check out the building.”

     Oh joy. Time to see Doctor Manuel the Crazy. Though, to be honest, he _was_ sort of right. Still, he’s annoying as fuck. Thankfully, Kaidan can actually hack doors, instead of being forced to do it yourself. Immediately after we step inside, we are greeted by Dr. Warren.

     “Humans! Thank the Maker!” Hey, lady, this is Mass Effect, not Dragon Age.

     “Hurry! Close the door! Before they come back!” Yeyz. The creepy oracle.

     “How did you end up here in this shed?” Shep asks Warren.

     I begin to tune it out. After all, I’ve heard this multiple times before. Then, Manuel speaks up.

     “No one is saved. The age of humanity is ended. Soon, only ruin and corpses will remain.” Quit being such a pessimist, ya prick. I once again tune out the conversation, pretending to be listening. I recognized the general sound of Manuel speaking, but didn’t bother to pick out his words. I heard Warren describe her assistant as “a bit unstable.” I snort softly. Please, please punch him Shep!

     “I can put him to sleep.” Yes! The satisfying sound of fist on face sounds out, and Manuel falls, mercifully silent. Warren reacts as expected, freaking out.

     “You have to admit that was a bit extreme, Commander.” Ugh. Kaidan, why must you be so uptight? Our quartet starts to move in the direction of the spaceport, and we hear a shot ring out. _Nihlus is dead_. Then, we see Sovereign.

     “What is that? Off in the distance!” You didn’t really have to specify what you were talking about, Kaidan. It’s pretty easy to tell what it is when there is a _giant fucking cuttlefish_ in the sky.

     “It’s a ship! Look at the size of it!”

     No time to think about it further, as Shep moves forward, towards the spaceport and the geth. The first thing she does is Throw a geth trooper. As the three make their way towards the enemies, I fire a few shots at the containment cell that is _right there_. In return, I get an explosion that breaks the shields of a geth. Then, I decided to do my “usual”: assist and kill-steal from a distance. I fire in bursts of three, and Ash finished it off with a long burst of accurate fire.

     On to the husks! First, there was one that had charged me. Well, actually two. I kill the first one with a headshot, but the second one reaches pouncing range, and, well, pounces on me. My Mattock falls out of my hands, and as the cyborg-zombie hands attempt to strangle me, I manage to grab my Carnifex. Before I can shoot it, Kaidan does so for me, freeing me up to finish it off with a one-handed headshot as it gets up.

     I don’t have time to grab my Mattock before the next 3 husks arrive, so I stick with my Carnifex. I also stick with firing in trios. Kaidan and Shep simultaneously Throw a husk. Poor guy. Shep’s shotgun scatters the brains of another one, and I kill the last one with headshot triplets.

     “Good job, Thomas. Nice to see I was right about you carrying your own weight.”

     “Thanks, Shepard.”

     Then, we saw Nihlus’s body. “Commander. It’s Nihlus.” Is your thing saying the obvious, Kaidan?

     “Something’s moving! Over behind those crates!” All of us point our sidearms where Ash is gesturing.

     Powell stands up and walks towards us cautiously, waving his hands. “Wait! Don’t-don’t shoot! I’m one of you! I’m human!”

     “What are you doing sneaking around back there?”

     “I-I’m sorry. I was hiding. From those creatures. My name’s Powell. I saw what happened to that turian. The other one shot him.”

     “I need to know how Nihlus died.”

     I’ve heard this before, so I just tune it out. After the conversation finished, our glorious quartet moved forwards, until we encountered some more geth. Again, I provide assistance and steal kills with the Mattock. I like the Mattock. Shep, as usual, gets up close with her shotgun and biotic Throws. Kaidan also joins in on the Throwing, but is further away. Ash lays down cover fire. After those three on the walkway-thing are finished, we went down to another walkway-thing with cover at regular intervals on each side.

     A Geth Destroyer was the one in front. Kaidan sent a biotic Throw at it. Ash finished it off. Shep, of course, charged down at the other geth. Ashley also went up closer, but not _as_ close as Shep. Kaidan and I were in the back, providing support. Hmm...Do I have any tech abilities? A quick check tells me that yes, I have two: Overload and Sabotage. I quickly stand out of cover and send an Overload at one of the two geth. Shep and Ash had already broken through its shields, so it really only did some damage. This damage kills it. Yay for killsteals.

     Overload’s still on cooldown, so I use Sabotage on the other geth, overheating its weapon, which lets Shep blow it’s flashlight-head-whatever to shit. We still have to go down the rest of the walkway, which has plenty more geth, hiding behind their annoying little hexagon barriers. On our merry way we go!

* * *

     After all of that tediousness, we’re at the train and ready to move. Of course, now is the time for chatting.

     “So, Thomas, how’d you do that Overload and Sabotage back there? Colonists don’t normally have those programs on their omni-tool.”

     I shrugged. “I was a computer science major. Care to explain what the fuck is going on here, Shep?”

     “Shep?”

     “Quicker.”

     “Can’t argue with that. Well, there's a Prothean beacon that was dug up here, and we’re trying to recover it before the geth do.”

     “What about that turian back at the spaceport?”

     “That was Nihlus Kryik, a Spectre the Council sent to help with the mission.” I knew she was omitting the _little_ detail that Nihlus was also evaluating her for Spectrehood. Still, I nodded in acceptance of what she said. “Now, get some rest. We still have some time before we get to the next stop.”


End file.
